L Comics
The L Comics are an ongoing comic series published by DLC. They are a continuation of the Lukeboy Comics, following a decade-long hiatus. They follow the character Lukeboy, now known under the pseudonym "L", as he struggles to return to crime-fighting to defeat rising crime lord, The Moniker. The series launched in 2019 and had five story arcs. Bobcat, Moniker, IL, Moniker, WA, Origins, and Spider Monkey. The series received a reboot in early 2020. Characters Heroes Luke "L" - L is the main protagonist and titular character of the series. Having trained under The Caretaker's guidance in his youth, L returns to crime-fighting years after retirement to take on The Moniker. Ana - Ana is L's upperclassman and partner in crime. She is protective of L, and often saves the day when things get too out of hand. Emily "Empress" - Emily is the most recent student of the Caretaker to join L's team. She is an expert tactician and skilled with weaponry. Sean "Trouble Machine" - Sean is one of the Caretaker's students, who specializes in technology and gadgets. He often operates from the base and communicates with L over a radio. Shak - Shak is a sentient shark living in Lake Michigan. He joins the crew to stop Moniker after finding out she has captured L's girlfriend. Sevda - Sevda is an intelligent spider that joins L's team out of spite for Spider Monkey. She is smart and good at playing both sides, but often loses herself to her insect instincts. The Caretaker - The Caretaker is a master and teacher of Ninjutsu who trained L and his group. He serves as a voice of reason and often communicates back and forth with L. Villains Holly "The Moniker" - The Moniker is the main antagonist of the series. She is a young girl who organizes a group of thugs, assisted by Dr. Flicker, to create havoc in Chicago, Illinois. Shatian "Spider Monkey" Wu - Spider Monkey is L's arch-nemesis who has returned to Chicago after faking his death. He plans to enslave the city to help him form a "new society" with him as the ruler. Soup - Soup is the Moniker's number one ally. She is skilled with a baseball bat and backs the Moniker up in every decision. Chelsea "Bobcat" Alastair - Bobcat is a cannibalistic associate of the Moniker, who is lovesick for her. She works alongside Spider Monkey to seek vengeance on L. Dr. Flicker - Dr. Flicker is a transmutation of Jonathan and Janet Flicker. They are a technology expert and provide the Moniker with equipment to battle L with. Carlyle "Vile" Flicker - Vile is a mutated lab experiment created by Dr. Flicker that preys on couples during times of intimacy. Natalia - Natalia is one of the Moniker's most trusted accomplices. She is the seductive ally of Bobcat, and extremely loyal to her cause. Evelina - Evelina is the former second-in-command of criminal organization, the Bully Club. She is blessed by the Sorceress, giving her powers of advanced archery. Venedikt Ivanov - Venedikt is the former leader of criminal organization, the Bully Club. He is blessed by the Sorceress, giving him powers of advanced strength. Teddy the Bank Heister-Meister/Electrify - Teddy is a bank robber that joins the Moniker's ranks to oppose L. He is conflicted by his life of crime and seeks to redeem himself, though he believes it impossible to truly overcome his past. Glyder - Glyder is a member of the Bully Club, who's mind is attached to his backpack. Controlling his backpack with his mind allows Glyder to pull out any necessary tools he needs in any situation. Birthday Local - Birthday is a sporting superstar renowned all throughout Chicago. He is a member of the Bully Club, and uses his gift from the Sorceress to cheat in competitions. Headless Harry - Headless Harry is Birthday Local's assistant in the Bully Club, and serves as the means of Birthday's cheating in sporting events. Billy Bomb - Billy Bomb is the Moniker's short-tempered explosives expert, and assists her in missions that require blowing something up. He is large and often wrestles his enemies. The Sorceress - The Sorceress is a being that came to Venedikt and Evelina to warn them of an impending evil. She gifts the members of the Bully Club with powers that they later use against her when she attacks the town. Antiana - Antiana is a spirit of the cosmos that manifested as a clone of Ana. She assists Spider Monkey in developing the new society, and appears in the Moniker's mind to drive her to insanity. Geraldo Wilson - Geraldo is a human trafficker that lives in the sewers and orders rats to do his bidding. His earnings fund Spider Monkey's "Spider Circus." Donna "The Love Queen" - The Love Queen is one of Spider Monkey's closest allies. She concocts the love toxin, which causes anyone inflicted by it to fall madly in love. Charlie Burkins - Charlie Burkins is the 12 year-old son of one of Dr. Flicker's associates, who intends to finish the experiment his father started. Linger - Linger is the monstrous creation of the Burkins Experiment that murders anyone who sees his picture. Supporting Officer Dillon - Officer Dillon is the police chief and head officer handling the Moniker's crimes and associated acts. He is supportive of L, and assists him when the opportunity arises. Travis "Trevor" Carlson - Trevor serves as the owner of the Westchester Asylum. When he discovers the Moniker's secret identity, the Moniker orders his execution. Davis & Angela - Davis and Angela are members of the Bully Club who assist the Moniker and Soup in stealing equipment from Dr. Flicker. Issues See also: List of L Comics Bobcat A new crime lord called the Moniker takes over the city of Chicago by gathering a group of thugs. L returns to superheroics with his team consisting of Empress, Trouble Machine, and Ana, to stop her. However, Moniker's thugs are split by one of her own team members, Bobcat, who falls into insanity and captures Moniker. She coerces Moniker into helping her defeat L by injecting her with a poisonous juice. Moniker injects L with the same juice, and the two are forced to team up to steal the antidote from Bobcat. When they find out it was all a ruse, they discover Bobcat to be working with the thought to be deceased supervillain, Spider Monkey. Moniker, IL Moniker reveals to L that she is holding his girlfriend, Holly, captive somewhere in Chicago. Teaming up with L's old enemies, Moniker sends L on a scavenger hunt around the city to find her. After a run-in with mad scientist, Dr. Flicker, Moniker and her allies are inducted into criminal organization, the Bully Club. L receives help from his old allies, the Caretaker and Shak, to complete the scavenger hunt, but must compete with Moniker's growing base of followers. In a strange turn of events, Bobcat helps L out, revealing that the clues would eventually lead him to Washington. Moniker, WA L and Bobcat head to Washington to continue Moniker's game. Moniker leaves Soup in charge of the Bully Club and heads over to Seattle to continue toying with L. Soup learns that the Bully Club members are gifted with powers from a goddess called Sorceress, who gave them the powers to battle a great evil. When Sorceress returns, stronger than before, the Bully Club assumes she is the great evil and defeats her. In Washington, Moniker kidnaps L and offers him the chance to learn the truth. L discovers that Moniker is actually Holly, and Bobcat led him to Washington to visit her famous parents' graves. The three return to Chicago together, only to find Spider Monkey has killed Dr. Flicker and overtaken the city. Origins Before becoming L, Lukeboy is a hero raised in the underground temple and trained in Ninjutsu to battle against superhuman terrorist, Spider Monkey. He works with fellow superhero, Trevorman, on many cases, but their disagreements on how to handle criminals eventually lead to them breaking their partnership. When Spider Monkey receives help from two manifested gods called Anti-Luke and Anti-Ana, Lukeboy and Trevorman team up to stop them. Anti-Luke kills Trevorman, and Lukeboy kills Anti-Luke in a fit of rage. He then "kills" Spider Monkey, and gives up being a superhero. Spider Monkey Spider Monkey takes a run of Chicago, but is hunted by Vile, the child of Dr. Flicker. L and company are contacted by a mysterious person called "the Enlightener", who gives them inside info on Spider Monkey's whereabouts. Following the Enlightener's orders, L is forced to partner with the Bully Club to oppose the terrorist. However, Venedikt Ivanov, the leader of the Bully Club, grows wary that Moniker is working behind his back. He attempts to kill her, but Soup kills him to protect Moniker. This causes the girls to be kicked out of the Bully Club. They move in with Bobcat and her girlfriend, Natalia, and the four work together as their own unit. After finding out about Spider Monkey's plan to create a giant circus, the Enlightener reveals themselves to L and company, revealing to be Spider Monkey's pet spider, Sevda. Sevda tells L that Spider Monkey will be working with Anti-Ana, now called Antiana, on the Spider Circus. However, Moniker steals a love toxin from Spider Monkey's associate, the Love Queen, and uses it to kidnap L and convince him to marry her. While L and Moniker are on their honeymoon, Spider Monkey uses the same toxin to infatuate the citizens of Chicago with him. He leads them to the Spider Circus, where Empress tries to stop him. Spider Monkey unveils that his enemies will be the performers in his circus, and kills Empress in the first act. The heroes and villains team up to rescue L, and the group goes to the circus to battle the terrorist. However, Spider Monkey uses his "human enhancements" to become a stronger being, but they start to overtake his mind and body. Spider Monkey's circus takes flight and flies over to his old lair. While inside, L discovers the truth that Antiana was the one who drove Moniker to insanity. Development Years after the discontinuation of the Lukeboy Comics, writer Lou Polish married Hannah Margaret, a fan of the old comic series. Shortly after their marriage, Hannah had a dream where Lukeboy's girlfriend, Holly, went rogue and forced him into a fighting ring. During the fight, Lukeboy was rescued by Ana, Trouble Machine, and a new girl they called "Emily." Fascinated by the dream, Polish wrote the original conceptualization of L Comics, introducing Empress as the new girl, and giving Holly the new moniker, The Moniker. The concept sat untouched for an undetermined amount of time, with only a script existing for the comic. Later, the concept was discovered by Polish's former artist, Mao Lewis, who wished to draw the comic. After starting on the new comic, the new series began. Realizing the obscurity of the name "Lukeboy" in modern hero comics, Polish and Lewis toyed with the idea of changing his name. After several suggestions such as Duke and The L, the writers settled on simply calling him "L." Thus, the comic series received the title, "L Comics." The idea pitched by Polish went against the regular comic book standards, by having every comic be a continuation of the last, stepping away from the original serialization of Lukeboy. The result would be a shorter series, but longer individual comics. Polish also claimed it would prove more easily collectible for readers, and provide much less filler, a large reason for the cancellation of the original series. After booking six story arcs and a set number of issues, publication began. Controversy Immediately, the L Comics faced criticism for the intense violence and gore that was not present in most original Lukeboy Comics. On the official website, the creators questioned the fans as to whether or not they should tone down the violence. An overwhelming majority voted against this. Later criticisms concerned the sexual nature of the comics, particularly targeting Issue #25, The Truth, which featured a long scene of sexual intercourse between L and the Moniker. Many found this inappropriate, and issued complaints to DLC. However, the issue became one of the best-selling comics, and has since been praised for it's ambitious storytelling. Ending Initially, the writers intended the series to have six story arcs. Repeating what Lukeboy Comics attempted to do, the Spider Monkey story concluded with Spider Monkey's death, and the Antiana arc would pick up with Antiana as the main antagonist. After finishing the Spider Monkey arc, the story was concluded for a number of reasons. Following the death of popular antagonist, Spider Monkey, co-writer Mao Lewis and Lou Polish's wife, Hannah, insisted the story would be difficult for fans to continue reading. Several fans criticized the idea of another story arc following the main antagonist's death, and insisted the story end where it left off. After a brief discussion with Lewis, Polish decided that everything wrapped up "too well" in the Spider Monkey arc, and a new story would only ruin it. The final decision was to forgo the Antiana arc and end the series. Legacy L Comics received praise for its incredible artwork and story. Many welcomed the idea of an ongoing story line, which was viewed as a good change from the filler-filled Lukeboy Comics. Comics Weekly gave the series an 8/10 score, based on the first three arcs. Comical Comic gave each arc individual reviews, praising each of them for their story and art. "I never thought much about Lukeboy, but after reading one issue of L Comics, I was hooked. The story is a fascinating contribution to the superhero world, not following too many cliches, but keeping the ones that give it its charm. L is no Superman, and that's why we love him." The character of The Moniker received great praise, being voted "Best New Villain" in the Comics Weekly monthly poll for three months straight. She has become a popular character icon in media and fashion, and received acknowledgement from several major industries. After the revelation of the Moniker's secret identity, she became popularized as a "yandere" in internet culture, an obsessive and murderous lover. Characters such as Vile and Bobcat have also received immense praise, noting their strong development and characterization. Issue #20, Year of the Bobcat, quickly became the best-selling comic of the month, and one of the most popular in the series as a whole. The comic received praise for giving proper backstory to popular characters, increasing the level of merchandise featuring Bobcat and Vile. Other issues such as The Rise of Moniker, Electrify, The Truth, and The Stroke of Midnight became increasingly popular and highly-regarded comics in the industry. Reboot In December of 2019, debates were had among the writing staff between rebooting the series, or continuing it for one final arc. Facing mixed reception from fans following popular character Spider Monkey's death, the crew saw it best to start anew and conclude L Comics with the Spider Monkey story arc. A new series, Spider King Comics, launched in 2020, giving the character of L a new backstory and new adventures.